Artistic Director, Kevin Loring

JAN 23 - FEB 1, 2020 | THE CULTCH

A black hole, hungry ghosts, a Grandmother wolf—Quelemia Sparrow’s Skyborn is an epic odyssey grounded in Indigenous ancestral knowledge. Guided through the universe on a river made of stars, Sparrow makes a journey by canoe to recover her lost soul from the land of the dead. This adventure is deeply rooted in the cosmology and teachings of her Musqueam heritage. It invites the audience to bear witness to a reclamation of culture, land and self.

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Skyborn is imaginatively constructed and fiercely poignant. It introduces never-before-seen Musqueam/Sto:lo visual storytelling and animation, as well as inter-Indigenous sound and puppetry, but at its heart is the simple, irreducible force of human presence: Sparrow is a natural performer, endowed with grace and magnetism. This work is her gesture of liberation.

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“When a person had a spirit sickness, it was said that their soul had left their body. In Skyborn, we use theatre to embody a ritual that is a personal and familial odyssey of reclamation of self, and land, and blood memory.” —Quelemia Sparrow

A NOTE FROM SAVAGE SOCIETY​

February 21, 2020

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Despite the incredibly supportive environment at Gateway Theatre, Savage Society has decided not to proceed with the planned run of Skyborn in March.

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It was a hard decision to make and we are deeply saddened by the inconvenience to our partner, the Gateway Theatre and its audiences.

"While it disappoints us to not be able to bring this remarkable work to our audiences, we support Savage Society’s decision." says Barbara Tomasic, Gateway’s Interim Producer.

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We are looking forward to our future collaborations with the Gateway Theatre and a chance to share our work with audiences in Richmond.

Sincerely,

Kevin Loring, Artistic Director &

Chelsea McPeake Carlson, Managing Producer

PRODUCTION TEAM​

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PLAYWRIGHT & PERFORMER

Quelemia Sparrow

FIRE CREATOR/DIRECTOR

Kim Senklip Harvey

INDIGENOUS FRAMEWORK CONSULTANT/DRAMATURG

Lindsay Lachance

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DRAMATURG

David Bloom

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SET DESIGNER

Andy Moro

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VIDEO DESIGNER

Emily Soussana

COSTUME DESIGNER

Evan Ducharme

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LIGHTING DESIGNER

Itai Erdal

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ILLUSTRATIONS

Chrystal Sparrow, Carrielynn Victor

PUPPET DIRECTOR/DESIGNER

Stephanie Elgersma

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PUPPETEER

Kelsey Kanatan Wavey

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STAGE MANAGER

Lois Dawson

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APPRENTICE STAGE MANAGER

Brody Halfe

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SOUNDSCAPE VOCALS

Renae Morriseau, Chelsea Rose Tucker, Kaitlyn Yott

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PRODUCTION MANAGER

Matt Oviatt

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGER

Andrew Pye

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TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Conor Moore

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PROPS

Jennifer Stewart

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JAPANESE VOICE-OVER

June Fukumura, Tetsuro Shigematsu

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SUPPORTED BY National Arts Centre's National Creation Fund

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FURTHER FUNDING FROM Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada, the British Columbia Arts Council,The First Peoples' Cultural Council, The City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia, Boca del Lupo.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

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SKYBORN (formerly O’wet) was originally commissioned by Full Circle: First Nations Performance as part of a larger work, and benefited from the work of the Full Circle Aboriginal Ensemble, including director Margo Kane, dramaturg Michael Springate, and associate dramaturg and researcher Kwasuun Sarah Vedan.

It was first performed as a workshop production at the Firehall Arts Centre, produced by Alley Theatre in June 2016.

In the summer of 2018, the focus was on land-based dramaturgy with director Kim Harvey and dramaturge Lindsay Lachance.

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A design integration phase took place at The Cultch in the summer of 2019.